Nairobi, September 4, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Kenyan authorities to ensure a credible investigation into Tuesday’s seizure of Standard Group editor Alex Kiprotich by armed men whom local media allege were police officers.
The five-hour incident followed a similar attack on June 27, when Kiprotich’s car was
intercepted
by men with guns but he managed to drive off before they got inside the vehicle.
“Kenyan authorities have failed spectacularly in their duty to protect Alex Kiprotich, despite clear evidence he remained at risk after escaping another kidnapping attempt just two months ago,” said CPJ Africa Program Director Angela Quintal. “This brazen attack demands an immediate, independent, and credible investigation, including into allegations of police involvement. Anything less will deepen concerns that President William Ruto’s government is enabling impunity for attacks on journalists and critics.”
On Wednesday, police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga
said
the Inspector General of Police had “ordered immediate investigations to determine what transpired, including the identity of the heavily armed individuals.” He said a recently created Anti-Abduction Unit would ensure justice.
Dashboard camera footage shows an armed man whose car has intercepted the Standard Group’s vehicle before he seized its occupant, journalist Alex Kiprotich. (Screenshot: KTN News/YouTube)
Chaacha Mwita, Group CEO of the Standard Group, told CPJ that the media group’s company car was blocked by a white Subaru on a highway to the central city of Nakuru at around 9:20 p.m. on September 1 by four masked men, armed with assault rifles, who
dragged Kiprotich
into their vehicle. Mwita said the men questioned Kiprotich about his journalism and sources before abandoning him at around 3 a.m. in a “thicket” about 230 kilometers southeast, near Masinga Dam, telling the journalist to lie face down and not look up until he was told to do so.
The Standard, one of K
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